According to the
Washington
State Parks website, the word "Pilchuck" comes from the Native American name
"red water," for a creek in the area. Mount Pilchuck was likely among the "long
ridge of snowy mountains" as described in the journal of English explorer George
Vancouver during the spring of 1792. This peak stands well apart from the main
Cascade Mountain range.

In 1918, the Forest Service built a fire lookout on Mount Pilchuck's summit. The
Lookout was staffed until the 1960s. From 1957 to 1980, Washington State Parks
administered a ski area here that was run by a concessionaire. The ski area
closed in 1980 due to poor annual snow conditions.

The area currently is managed in partnership with the USFS and Everett
Mountaineers. The Forest Service maintains the trail and trailhead, and State
Parks and the Mountaineers maintain the historic lookout building.